The “Yes in my backyard!” Syndrome

Montreal, July 28, 2017 – The Quebec Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS Quebec) and the Friends of the Îles-de-Boucherville National Park have launched a petition to support the expansion of the Îles-de-Boucherville National Park. By signing this petition, each citizen asks the Canadian Federal Government to cede all federal territory of the archipelago of the Great Tailhandier Flats, including the small islands east of the flats, to the Government of Quebec to be annexed to the Îles-de-Boucherville National Park for conservation and access to nature for all.

“This is not a petition against any project, it is the “Yes in my backyard!” Syndrome, a positive gesture for better access to nature for all citizens of the Greater Montreal area,” says Alain Branchaud, Biologist and General Manager of CPAWS Quebec. “2017 is truly the unique opportunity to realize this action while Montreal celebrates its 375th anniversary along with its neighbor Boucherville, celebrating its 350th anniversary. What a symbolic gesture to see Canada, which itself is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, to offer citizens a link between the two municipalities as a present for the future,” added Mr. Branchaud.

“The Great Tailhandier Flatsare part of the Boucherville Islands Archipelago and contain a significant biodiversity that would be better protected if the territory was annexed to the park,” said Jean Hubert, Administrator and Spokesperson for the Friends of the Îles-de-Boucherville National Park. “This would consolidate this important nature park for the citizens of the Greater Montreal area and facilitate the management of the ecological integrity of the sites,” concluded Mr. Hubert.

Both organizations are asking citizens of the metropolitan area, Quebec and elsewhere in the the world to participate in this great initiative by signing the petition and sharing it widely on social media networks.

The Saint Lawrence River has had a tough ride. Just as governments are slowly adopting and implementing strict raw sewage treatment, cities like Montreal enjoy the irresponsible freedom of dumping millions of gallons of raw sewage as a simple uncomplicated solution to managing the maintenance of it’s sewage system. In addition a network of badly designed overflows that are inadequately managed, tend to leak all year round. Montreal isn’t the only city betting on the swift currents to wash away their pollutants as an inexpensive solution. Many large Canadian cities like Toronto take advantage of the situation. All this waste ends up directly in our oceans, but not before leaving their mark on the flora and fauna of this weakened ecosystem.

A new threat has been lingering upstream from Montreal. An old cargo ship was abandoned by its Mexican owners, Reciclajes Ecológicos Marítimos. Unable to tow the ship to Mexico for final disassembly, the costs of maintaining the integrity of the Kathryn Spirit and continued pumping operations proved too much. The company declared bankruptcy and renounced ownership of the Kathryn Spirit. As a result, all pumping operations to keep the boat upright have stopped.

Kathryn Spirit – Photo Journal de Montreal

Anchored in Beauharnois for demolition in 2011, the Katrhryn Spirit has been surrounded in controversy due to the high risk of environmental damage. Municipal governments have protested this operation from its inception. (Kathryn Spirit on Wikipedia)

Now in 2016, the Ship is deteriorating at a rapid rate and with the pumping operations suspended, an ecological disaster may be just a few weeks away. The 150-metre-long ship contains millions of liters of crude oil, yet Canadian Federal authorities and Quebec Provincial Authorities are dragging their feet. (CBC NEWS ARTICLE)

Fragile ecosystems like the Îles de la Paix National Wildlife Area are located less than 5KM downstream from the Kathryn Spirit. Threatened bird species like the Least Bittern and the Black Tern are known to nest in this area. As we continue downstream a multitude of island harbor wildlife such as Ile aux Herons Migratory Bird Sanctuary. Countless nature parks and wild habitats are also nestled along thousands of kilometres of shoreline. The Iles-de-Boucherville National Park is but one more example of ecosystems that are at risk.

The millions of liters of Crude Oil and Hydrocarbons, if released, would threaten fresh drinking water supplies for millions of Quebec residents, just miles away in the Greater Montreal Region.

YOU CAN HELP!

A simple email to the Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport can get things rolling (marc.garneau@parl.gc.ca)

As Canadian Minister of Transport, you are responsible for security, emergencies and the maritime environment.

As such, I ask you to urgently intervene on the Kathryn Spirit ship aground since 2011 in the waters of Lake Saint-Louis in the Beauharnois area.

As INFOSuroît reported in an article posted January 15, 2016 and CBC news on January 18, 2016 (see below), a disaster will occur if your department does not intervene in the shortest possible time-frame.

You have the power and duty to end more than five years of neglect in the hands of the previous government and to prevent the impending disaster.

Thank you in advance for your quick actions in resolving this urgent matter.

I want to bring to your attention an important petition on this site. You, your friends and your family can sign it to help protect L’ANSE-À-L’ORME.

PETITION:

We, the undersigned, request that the City of Montreal and the borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro conserve and protect the total area of Rivière à l’Orme Ecoforest Corridor where a proposed residential development to build 6,000 housing units could destroy 185 hectares of natural spaces.

Our natural ecosystems are very important; they allow us to adapt to the negative impacts caused by climate change. Natural areas in proximity to urban centers play a very important role as buffer zones and deserve to be preserved.

Their ecosystems provide many benefits, they prevent local flooding, filter air and water, promote pollination, provide erosion control, climate regulation, supply water and provide recreation areas and tourism services. This development will destroy the ecosystem and its local and unique biodiversity. It will have a negative effect in the quality of life of citizens by bringing more than 10,000 cars and would increase property taxes for all Borough residents who will pay for the construction of this residential development in a non-serviced area.

Please get involved and sign this very important petition. You can go directly to the petition HERE

You can also download and print the petition as a PDF document : Petiton – SAVE L’ANSE-À-L’ORME Once printed you can have your friends, family and neighbors sign it to help SAVE L’ANSE-À-L’ORME.